Business Archived 2010 #1

The Big Picture

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China passed Japan in 2010 to become the world’s second-largest economy after the U.S., a historic shift that has drawn mixed emotions in the two Asian powers: resignation tinged with soul-searching in long-stagnant Japan, pride but also caution in an ascendant China wary of shouldering new global responsibilities.

The Japanese government made official the long-expected flip Monday morning in Tokyo, reporting that the economy shrank at a 1.1% annual rate for the last three months of the year, a period when China’s gross domestic product surged 9.8% from a year earlier. With those figures, Japan’s full-year GDP was $5.47 trillion—about 7% smaller than the $5.88 trillion China reported in January.

Both still remain considerably smaller than the American economy. Japan and China combined are still worth less than the U.S.’s 2010 GDP of $14.66 trillion. But the news marks the end of era. For nearly two generations, since overtaking West Germany in 1967, Japan stood solidly as the world’s No. 2 economy. The new rankings symbolize China’s rise and Japan’s decline as global growth engines.

For the U.S., while Japan was in some ways an economic rival, it also has been a geopolitical and military ally. China, however, is a potential challenger on all fronts.

Seeking to balance cuts while maintaining U.S. competitiveness and facing pressure from Republicans seeking even bigger reductions, President Barack Obama said on Monday his proposed 2012 budget was a “down payment,” on reducing the federal budget deficit, but said more work was needed to address “long term challenges.”.

Heralded by the aircraft maker as its airspace footprint into the future, the new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental shed the traditional blue imprint of the old days and instead opted for a flaming red an…

read moreABC NewsThe Associated Press By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO February 8, 2011 (AP) TMX Group, the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, said Tuesday it is in advanced talks to merge with the London Stock Exchange in a deal that would make it one…

The British government has entered into a comprehensive agreement with the nation’s largest banks on matters related to lending, transparency and bonuses payments to executives, after four months of negotiations and wrangling.

Collectively, the critics set to testify on Wednesday have previously said the Fed operates for its own advantage, interferes with the market much as a price-control board does, and has not targeted unemployment as much as it has low inflation.

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Treasurys fell for a fourth straight session on Thursday after a round of robust US data and as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke brightened his assessment on the economic outlook.

The firms may be in the West, but the new business is now in the East — the Far East, that is. China’s construction growth, fed by a thriving economy and a massive population movement from rural to urban …

It’s day seven of protests in Egypt calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

January 31st, 2011

Egypt, Day 7 – Demonstrators continue to demand that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step down, and CNN.com’s “This Just In” is live, blogging developments as they happen. While Americans were waking up Monday, thousands in Cairo defied a midafternoon government curfew despite a greater military presence on the street. Many in the city’s Tahrir Square said they spent the night there. In Alexandria, 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered, and an armored personnel carrier fired warning shots in an apparent effort to intimidate protesters near a hotel.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department said 42 Americans have been evacuated from Egypt and more will be transported. Read about their journey. The recent Tunisian uprising helped inspire the Egyptian unrest following the buildup of years of social, political and economic grievances. The lack of opportunities, corruption and poverty have coalesced into a push to oust Mubarak from power.

The negative effect protests have had on U.S. stocks may be waning, but world markets are not doing as well.

Suffering from the world recession, Spain has the highest rate of unemployment of any industrialized country

Fitch rating agency downgrades Egypt to ‘negative’ on protests

Egypt’s outlook was downgraded to “negative” by the Fitch rating agency Friday. The revision comes after the country’s stock index fell Thursday by 10.5%. The move is a sign that investors are increasingly concerned by current events in the country.

| BOSTON-Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo is planning to address biotechnology executives about how changes in health care law could effect their industry. | DeLeo is scheduled to deliver the … (photo: AP / James A. Finley)

| WASHINGTON — Large trucking companies paid the government more than 30 percent of their income in 2009. Biotechnology companies paid less than 5 percent. Blogs | The Caucus | The latest on Pre… (photo: AP / Haraz N. Ghanbari)

The pace and scale of urbanisation in fast growing economies could be a source of future crises as could the moral and ethical limitations of the current capitalist system, according to business leade… (photo: WN / Marzena J.)

CHICAGO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Boeing Co (BA.N) on Wednesday said its quarterly profit slipped after the company made fewer commercial airplane deliveries than a year ago, and the company predicted a hit to earnings partly from delays to the 787 …

For one thing, he still sees a fiscal trainwreck.

Residential real-estate prices dropped in November by the most in a year, signaling housing has yet to join the US rebound. Photographer: Jim R. Bounds/Bloomberg Residential real-estate prices dropped …

For anyone who’s a fan of Taco Bell’s Cheesy Gordita Crunch, or the stalwart beef taco, the following news may not sit well: The “taco meat filling” — as it is labeled — that the fast-food vendor uses is made up of only 36-percent beef.

DETROIT, Jan 24 (Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) reported weaker-than-expected December sales at established US and European restaurants as poor weather hurt demand, and said its food costs would rise in 2011.

Economy in the U.K. grew slower in the fourth quarter though it was above economists’ forecasts, according to the latest report by the U.K. Statistical Department.

Treasury’s Rise On Moscow Blast, Fed Buying

Wall Street Journal – Min Zeng

The 4:32 pm blast near the international arrivals area of Moscow’sDomodedovo airport was the country’s worst terrorist attack since twin bombings.

Treasury’s eked out some gains Monday, supported by a round of buying from the Federal Reserve while a deadly blast in Russia boosted demand for safe assets.

The $8.869 billion buying in notes maturing in 2016 and 2017 was at the top end of the $7 billion and $9 billion range the central bank intended to buy for this operation. It is part of the Fed’s $600 billion bond buying program launched in early November as a second round of monetary stimulus to support the economy.

A suicide attacker blew himself up at Russia’s busiest airport Monday, killing at least 31 people and wounding more than 100 others, authorities said. The 4:32 p.m. blast near the international arrivals area of Moscow’s Domodedovo airport was the country’s worst terrorist attack since twin bombings left 40 dead in the Moscow subway last March.

“There was some demand for Treasurys from the Moscow blast and the Fed buying, but trading in the market has been mundane with no U.S. data Monday,” said Paul Horrmann, a broker in New York at Tradition Asiel Securities, an interdealer broker. “The main driver for the bond market this week will be the new debt supply” and the first monetary policy meeting in 2011 from the Federal Reserve.

Gains were limited as the bond market is bracing for this week’s $99 billion new government notes supply. The sales include $35 billion in two-year notes on Tuesday, followed by $35 billion in five-year notes on Wednesday and $29 billion in seven-year notes Thursday.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver his first State of the Union address in 2011 on Tuesday evening. The Fed will conclude the two-day meeting on Wednesday afternoon with a statement featuring policymakers’ latest assessments on the economy and interest rates.

Apple has announced an impressive milestone: 10 billion apps have been downloaded from its iTunes store. A British woman downloaded the free game Paper Glider to hit the magic number, winning a $10000 iTunes gift card.

People check the jobs board at a Denver Workforce Center in Denver, Colorado. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg US companies’ employment outlook improved to a 12-year high this quarter after sales …

World number one Rafael Nadal could become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once. (CNN) — Rafael Nadal maintained his bid to become the first man since Rod Laver to hold all four grand slam titles on Monday

The board of Sara Lee, the maker of cheesecakes, ice-cream, snacks and cereals, received a preliminary bid late last week from a group of buyout firms led by Apollo Global Management and including Bain Capital and TPG Capital.

Close on the heels of a China central bank adviser hinting at an imminent rate hike, a state-controlled newspaper has said more rate hike is on the cards, probably as early as in February, confirming …

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) – General Electric Co. on Friday posted a 51% jump in fourth-quarter profit, reflecting robust growth in its technology-infrastructure segment and underscoring a more stable global economy.

President Hu Jintao on Thursday will try to persuade often hostile U.S. lawmakers that China is a threat-free engine of growth, after a White House summit sought to narrow rifts between the world’s top two economies.

People check the jobs board at a Denver Workforce Center, part of the Denver Office of Economic Development, in Denver, Colorado. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg The number of Americans filing …

The United States and China on Wednesday agreed on $45 billion in U.S. export deals and to give U.S. companies greater access to China’s $88 billion-plus government contracts market at the start of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s four-day state visit.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve, which meets next week, is unlikely to curtail its plan to buy $600 billion of Treasury securities by June despite the stronger tone of the incoming economic data, research firm Capital Economics said in a note on Wednesday.